Article to be published in World Furniture, June 2012

SRI LANKA – ITS EXPO AND ITS FURNITURE

by John Sacks, JSA Consultancy Services , London.

According to Mr Samantha Wickramaarachchi – what a magnificent name - the Furniture Specialist at the Sri Lankan Export Development Board, the furniture market in Sri Lanka is worth about $105 million. Local production, after exports of $20 million, contributes about $55 million; the rest is imported. There are no large local manufacturers; in fact no furniture manufacturer employs more than 100 people and there are only about 25 which employ more than 50. By way of contrast, there are more than 600 businesses with fewer than 25 employees.

The market is dominated by two companies, H. Don Carolis and A.T. Cooray which have a combined share of 35% of the market. Most of the larger companies have a very broad product spread making bedroom, living room, kitchen and upholstered furniture, and some office furniture as well. As with many developing markets, manufacturing merges into distribution, and most of the larger companies retail their own products through their showrooms in Colombo and other larger cities.

HALF OF THE MARKET IS IMPORTED

The materials used are mostly solid timber and particle board, cane and rattan. The timbers are generally not the standard show wood varieties but rather those generally available locally, such as Rubberwood. The supply of other varieties such as Teak, Satinwood and Jackwood is tightly controlled by the State owned Timber Corporation and they are only available either by licence or as recycled “old wood” - usually comes from old housing stock. The high levels of imports – almost half of the market – is a function not of a lack of manpower or skills but rather of a shortage of supply of timber. How ironical for a land covered with millions of acres of lush tropical forests. A substantial proportion of the timber which is released onto the market is used for tool handles, flooring and gift boxes, which compounds the problem for furniture manufacturers.

Apart from the largest companies, manufacturing is very “low tech” but what is lacking in modern flowline production is more than made up with fine hand crafting and highly skilled carving. Little of the natural colour and grain pattern of the timber is generally seen however because of the use of very dark stains and paint finishes.

EVENT PROFILE

In March this year, the writer visited Expo Sri Lanka 2012 as a guest of the Sri Lankan Export Development Board. Until the end of the civil war in 2009, the security situation meant that this was the first time for 13 years that the country had staged an international exhibition.

BMICH exhibition & Conference Centre, Colombo, Sri Lanka

The event clearly won great official support with over 500 Government Ministers, overseas ambassadors and High Commissioners, VIPs, “Special Guests” and lowly journalists attending the swelteringly hot opening ceremony performed by the country’s President on Day 1. A similar ceremony was carried out by the Prime Minister on Day 2.

The show was held in ten halls in the exhibition complex on the outskirts of Colombo over four days at the end of March, with the first three being trade and official visitors only. Although the stands were small, considerable effort had gone into the companies’ presentation of their products and services which concentrated on the country’s main exports – fashion, gems, software, tea and spices. There were five companies showing furniture of which three concentrated on children’s furniture.

 

Roshan Beruwalage of Sujeewa Antiques (the name is misleading) showed some well crafted black painted Jackwood living and dining room pieces which had been made from “old wood”. The company employs 50 people in their factory in Ambalangoda, 100 km south of Colombo and they export to the UK, Germany and the USA. Interestingly, they took down their website some time ago because they found their competitors were using it to facilitate the copying of their products.

Sujeewa Antiques

The Department of Integrated Design of the University of Moratuwa used their stand to show off their interesting use of rattan which grows abundantly in Sri Lanka. Working with a team of ten craftsmen from Radawaduna Village, they had created some attractive items of occasional furniture which the villagers have started to produce.

 

There were also three companies showing colourful items of children’s furniture including chairs, tables and bunk beds.

Children’s furniture from Simplex and Art & Crafts International

DYNAMIC ECONOMIC GROWTH EXPECTED

The show was well attended, at least by local buyers, and the attendees seemed interested and professional. Sri Lanka has a high standard of living compared with other Southern Asian countries and the pace of development and construction is very rapid. Wherever one travels on the island, roads, houses, bridges and commercial construction is very much in evidence and with political and economic stability, demand for well designed and good quality furniture seems set to rise for the foreseeable future. With import duty on furniture of more than 60%, local manufacturers with their skills and control of the retail distribution are well placed to take full advantage of this growth. Whether these same manufacturers will also be able to exploit overseas markets remains to be seen.

Away from furniture, Sri Lanka is clearly a country which is poised for dynamic economic growth. The ending of hostilities and a stable government has started to release pent up entrepreneurship which is seen in the thousand if micro businesses you see everywhere. Inward investment is being encouraged, and with a claimed annual growth of 8%, annual inflation of 4% - 5% and a young and hard working population, the country could become a serious target for the inflow of international funds.